My Signature Lines

[John Reece]

Disjunctions between perception and reality are endemic to human life.

It occurs to me that some may perceive my signature lines to be a matter of ostentation — because they are always in Hebrew and Greek and most people do not read Hebrew and Greek.

The reality of the matter is that my signature lines are primarily a matter between God and me; and what God means and I understand by biblical texts are not always clearly represented in English renderings.

Just in case anyone may be curious about the meaning of whatever lines happen to be current in my signature, I am starting this thread to provide translations and explanations.

In the present time (February 2006) these are my signature lines:

[hebrew]B+XTY BXSD )LHYM (WLM W(D[/hebrew]
[greek]cariti qeou eimi o eimi[/greek]

Taking them in inverse order, the 2^nd line is from the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 15:10, ‘by the grace of God, I am what I am’:

• [greek]cariti[/greek] (chariti) = ‘by grace’ (the ‘ch’ is pronounced like the ‘ch’ in ‘loch’; the following word makes ‘grace’ definite: ‘the grace’). chariti is a grammatical inflection of the Greek word for ‘grace’: charis.

• [greek]qeou[/greek] (theou) = ‘of God’.

• [greek]eimi[/greek] (eimi) = ‘I am’ (the diphthong at the beginning of the word is pronounced like the ‘ei’ in ‘eight’).

• [greek]o[/greek] (o) = ‘what’ (= Greek letter omicron, pronounced like the o in ‘not’ = neuter relative pronoun, pronounced with a ‘rough breathing’ sound before the [greek]o[/greek] : ‘ho’).

• [greek]eimi[/greek] (eimi) = ‘I am’ (the diphthong at the beginning of the word is pronounced like the ‘ei’ in ‘eight’).

The Hebrew text in my current signature is Psalm 52:8b (v. 10 in Hebrew), which I would render (for reasons I will try to explain), ‘I trust in the grace of God, always and ever’.

• [hebrew]B+XTY[/hebrew] (bātakhtī) = ‘I trust’.

• [hebrew]BXSD[/hebrew] (b^ekhesed) = ‘in grace’

• [hebrew])LHYM[/hebrew] (^)elōhīm) = ‘God’

• [hebrew](WLM[/hebrew] (⁾ōlām) = ‘aways’

• [hebrew]W(D[/hebrew] (wā⁾ed) = ‘and ever’

In the Hebrew text, between the second and third term above there is a horizontal stroke (maqqēph) that indicates a relationship between the two terms that is rendered in English by ‘of’ in the phrase ‘of God’).

The last two words are usually rendered ‘forever and ever’, which is quite accurate; however, my rendering is equally accurate (& confirmed by lexical authority) and keeps present reality on a par with the unlimited futurity expressed in the usual rendering

[hebrew]BXSD[/hebrew] (b^ekhesed) is a prepositional phrase: a preposition prefixed to a noun. It is the noun, [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed), to which I invite your attention.

Many years ago I became intrigued by the usage of [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed) and what seemed to me to be rather ‘imprecise’ (for lack of a better term) renderings in English versions.

Consider these English translations of [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed) in the context of Psalm 52:8b (v. 10 in Hebrew): ‘steadfast love’ (ESV), ‘unfailing love’ (NIV), ‘faithful love’ (NJB), ‘constant love’ (GNB/TEV), ‘lovingkindness’ (NASB), ‘love’ (CEV), ‘tender mercy’ (PBV), and ‘mercy’ (KJV).

Why do no two of eight English versions agree in the rendering of the Hebrew word [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed)?

To take another tack, try looking up the word ‘grace’ in a concordance and see how seldom (7 times in RSV) it appears in about a thousand pages of OT text compared to how often (156 times) it appears in about 260 pages of NT text. There is four times as much text in the OT, but the NT renders ‘grace’ more than 22 times the frequency of OT occurrences — and none of the 7 occurrences of the word ‘grace’ in the RSV OT bear the sense that the word ‘grace’ bears in the NT.

Does that mean that the LORD God, as he related to people in the OT, did not manifest the grace that Jesus manifested in the NT?

With regard to that question, let’s take an exegetical tack.

John 1:14-17 (ESV)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Consider this comment by D. A. Carson:

The Glory of God manifest in the incarnate Word was full of grace and truth. In that case John is almost certainly directing his readers to Exodus 33:34 (cf. Hanson, pp 5ff.). There Moses begs God, ‘Now show me your glory’ (Ex. 33:18). The LORD replies, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I well proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ (Ex. 33:19). God’s glory then, is supremely his goodness. So Moses stands on Mount Sinai, and, we are told, ‘the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”’ (Ex. 34:5-7)

The Italicized words spell out the nature of that goodness which is God’s glory. The two crucial words in Hebrew are khesed (variously rendered ‘steadfast love’, ‘mercy’, ‘covenant love’ — but it has recently been shown quite clearly that it is the graciousness of the love that is at stake) and ^)emet (‘truth’ or ‘faithfulness’). This pair of expressions recurs again and again in the Old Testament. The two words that John uses, ‘full of grace and truth, are his ways of summing up the same ideas (on truth, cf. Schnackenburg, 2. 225-237; Ibuki, pp. 176-207). The glory revealed to Moses when the LORD passed in front of him and sounded his name, displaying the divine goodness characterized by ineffable grace and truth, was the same glory John and his friends saw in the Word-made-flesh. — D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (PNTC), page 129.

Let’s have a look at a lexicon with regard to the occurrence of [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed) in Psalm 52:8b (v. 10 in Hebrew):

—2. in relation of God to people or individuals, faithfulness, kindness, grace — A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, edited by William L. Holladay.

Between the semantic range of [hebrew]XSD[/hebrew] (khesed) in the OT and the semantic range of [greek]cariV[/greek] (charis) in the NT there is an overlap that encompasses the usage in both Psalm 52:8b and 1 Corinthians 15:10.

If I change my present signature lines, the new lines are likely to consist of additional examples of the phenomenon described in the last paragraph above, because of the resonance such texts have in my relationship with God.

[John Reece]

I changed the Greek line today (2-28-2006) to:

[greek]arkei soi h cariV mou[/greek]

That is the highlighted clause in this context:

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (ESV)

Paul's Visions and His Thorn

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows — 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations,] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Hebrew line remains unchanged:

[hebrew]B+XTY BXSD )LHYM (WLM W(D[/hebrew]

As explained in the OP, that means, “I trust in the grace of God always and forever.”

[John Reece]

I changed the Greek line today (2-28-2006) to:

[greek]arkei soi h cariV mou[/greek]

That is the highlighted clause in this context:

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (ESV)

Paul's Visions and His Thorn

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows — 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations,] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Hebrew line remains unchanged:

[hebrew]B+XTY BXSD )LHYM (WLM W(D[/hebrew]

As explained in the OP, that means, “I trust in the grace of God always and forever.”

After taking a nap I woke up thinking a better rendering of the Hebrew line is, ‘I trust in God’s grace always and ever’.

It’s nice to have nothing to do but think about the scriptures.

[Conductor42]

Good Stuff

[John Reece]

Good Stuff

Thank you.

[A Cup of No]

Alef, Bet....*dizzy*

[Brian]

Hello John,

I have studied Greek for about three years. The following is for informational purposes only.

...(the diphthong at the beginning of the word is pronounced like the ‘ei’ in ‘eight’).

I have been taught the modern Greek pronunciation versus Erasmian. In the modern Greek pronunciation this dipthong is pronounced "ee" as in "bee". It also should be noted that we really do not know the proper pronunciation for Koine Greek.

...Greek letter omicron, pronounced like the o in ‘not’ = neuter relative pronoun, pronounced with a ‘rough breathing’ sound before the ο : ‘ho’.

Modern Greek has no rough breathing, although the mark has been retained. I just bring this up to let people know there is more than one school of thought on these matters.

Thanks,

Brian

[John Reece]

Alef, Bet....*dizzy*

....Gimel, Daleth....

[John Reece]

Hello John,

I have studied Greek for about three years. The following is for informational purposes only.



I have been taught the modern Greek pronunciation versus Erasmian. In the modern Greek pronunciation this dipthong is pronounced "ee" as in "bee". It also should be noted that we really do not know the proper pronunciation for Koine Greek.



Modern Greek has no rough breathing, although the mark has been retained. I just bring this up to let people know there is more than one school of thought on these matters.

Thanks,

Brian

Hello Brian,

It would be quite anachronistic to project the pronunciation of Modern Greek onto Biblical Greek.

Of course we really do not know the proper pronunciation for Koine Greek; so what I learned from the professors at Duke University in the mid-1950’s, and at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia in the mid-1960’s — and from professors at other universities and theological seminaries who wrote the textbooks I have learned from over the past 50 years — cannot be shown to be incorrect.

And of course there is more than one school of thought: there is one for Biblical Greek, and there is another for Modern Greek.

What I am doing on this thread has everything to do with Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew, and nothing to do with Modern Greek or Modern Hebrew.

Blessings,

John

[Brian]

Hello John,

Whew. Your post came across as a little defensive and critical. I think you may have missed the intention of my post. I was not being critical, but rather was pointing out that there is no known "absolute correct" way to pronounce Koine Greek.

It would be quite anachronistic to project the pronunciation of Modern Greek onto Biblical Greek.

Perhaps, but in no way did I advocate this. Also, it is quite anachronostic to project the pronunciation put forth by Erasmus onto Biblical Greek. This cuts both ways. Again, my purpose was not to criticize Erasmian pronunciation. My purpose was to point out that we really do not know how Koine Greek was pronounced.

With that said, I think a case can be made that modern Greek pronunciation is probably closer to Koine Greek pronuciation than Erasmain pronunciation is to Koine Greek pronunciation. But again, that was not the point of my comments. If this is something you want to pursue, I would be happy to do so.

Of course we really do not know the proper pronunciation for Koine Greek...

I believe I said as much in my initial post in this thread.

...so what I learned from the professors at Duke University in the mid-1950’s, and at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia in the mid-1960’s — and from professors at other universities and theological seminaries who wrote the textbooks I have learned from over the past 50 years — cannot be shown to be incorrect.

Perhaps. As I mentioned above, there are strong arguments that can be made that Erasmian pronunciation is probably not correct. But once again, this was not my purpose when I commented. However, if this discussion is interesting to you, I would be happy to present some of the arguments against Erasmian pronunciation.

And of course there is more than one school of thought: there is one for Biblical Greek, and there is another for Modern Greek.

Two things: (1) There are more than two schools of thought on this matter. (2) One school of thought is not "Biblical Greek." Rather, it is Erasmian pronunciation.

What I am doing on this thread has everything to do with Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew, and nothing to do with Modern Greek or Modern Hebrew.

If by this you mean a study on how Koine Greek has been predominately taught since the 16th century, then fine. However, if by this you mean a study in how Koine Greek should be pronounced, then this simply begs the question. My point was simply that the issue is far from settled and has been debated before and after Erasmus.

I am sorry for the tone of this post. I guess after the tone I perceived in your post I just reacted. My intention was not to argue with you, but just to add information. You may have the last word.

Sincerely,

Brian

[John Reece]

Hello Brian,

I apologize for the tone of my response to your quibble about pronunciation — which in retrospect I see I should not have included in the OP, as it’s not an essential part of the purpose of this thread.

All your points are quite true, and you would never have read mine if the edit/delete window were not of such short duration.

Blessings,

John

[Brian]

Hello John,

I apologize for the tone of my response to your quibble about pronunciation — which in retrospect I see I should not have included in the OP, as it’s not an essential part of the purpose of this thread.

Thank you. Also, in retrospect I should never have made the comments I did. I jumped on something that was completely beside the point of this thread. I am sorry for having done this. Again, thank you for your gracious words.

Sincerely,

Brian

[John Reece]

Hello John,

Thank you. Also, in retrospect I should never have made the comments I did. I jumped on something that was completely beside the point of this thread. I am sorry for having done this. Again, thank you for your gracious words.

Sincerely,

Brian

Hello Brian,

After all is said and done, God’s grace does indeed prove to be sufficient for us.

Many thanks for what I have learned from you and for you graciousness.

Blessings,

John

[Brian]

I appreciate you John.

Thanks,

Brian